2,500-year-old tomb found in China

A tomb of an ancient Chinese warlord, dating back more than 2,500 years, has been discovered near a tourist resort.

The tomb was found in Yishui county in eastern Shandong province. Bronze weapons, musical utensils, jade jewellery and ritual utensils were unearthed, Xinhua reported.

A researcher said that judging from the size of the tomb and the type of artifacts it contained, the tomb may have contained the body of a dignitary who lived about 2,600 years ago during the Eastern Zhou Period (770-256 B.C.).

Hao Daohua, a researcher from the Shandong Archaeology Research Institute, said the period was a chaotic time in Chinese history, marked by wars between small kingdoms that occupied several areas in eastern and central China.

The archaeologists, however, were unable to find any bodily remains of the tomb's occupant.

The dead person may have been either a man or a woman, a warlord or his concubine, he said.